A Pharisee invited Jesus around for a meal.  Jesus didn’t wash his hands in the ceremonial way and so the Pharisees started murmering about him behind his back.  Jesus wasn’t one for murmering and so he confronts the Pharisees directly.  One of the experts in the law feels that the insults go beyond the Pharisees and insult them too.  Jesus makes it clear, yes he is insulting them too.  Jesus gets things out in the open and condemns hypocrisy.

When I was growing up there was a family who were pillars in the church.  However, they would spread the latest news about everyone’s failings.  They rarely said anything to a person’s face, but they disapproved of them quietly behind their backs.  Many people were damaged by their self-righteousness; more people than I knew at the time.  They were squeeky clean on the outside, but inside there was something that seemed dark, critical and loveless.

We are all hypocrites to some degree.  We are concerned about our own reputations and we will cast others down so that we can climb up over their brokenness.  We are sometimes more Nietzschian that Christian.  We have a will to power and we see the church as somewhere to dominate others.  However, we should realise that our sins were as scarlet and Christ has washed them white as snow.  As I used to hear growing up, “People in glass houses ought not to throw stones.”

Luke 11:37-54

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

 ³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

   ⁴² “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

   ⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

   ⁴⁴ “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

 ⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

 ⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

   ⁴⁷ “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ⁵⁰ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

   ⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

 ⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.

Questions

1. What is on the inside of a Pharisee?
2. How should a Pharisee clean the ‘inside of the dish’?
3. How many ‘woes’ does Jesus proclaim?
4. How would you describe your speech about others?  Affirming?  Condemning?
5. How can you tell if someone has a frail ego when you hang out?

Going Deeper

Observation

1. What do Pharisees clean?
2. What should Pharisees do with their tithes and their attitudes?
3. What does an expert in the law say to Jesus?
4. What do experts in the law not help with?
5. How did the Pharisees and teachers of the law begin to oppose Jesus?

Interpretation

1. Why does Jesus talk about herbs?
2. How do Pharisees contaminate those around them?
3. Why is it appropriate for Jesus to insult his hosts?
4. How does law bring spiritual death?
5. Was all of Jesus’ Jewish generation condemned because they did not respond to Jesus appropriately?

Application

1. How might stars today portray a clean image but be unjust and unloving inside?
2. Do you love being singled out for praise?  How could you be free from this need?
3. How can a love for truth become a burden to ourselves and others?
4. How do truth, love, and time heal?
5. Do you read the Old Testament prophets?  Why would Jesus be concerned that people had heard their message?